Illinois Hands Out First Social Equity Cannabis Retail Licenses

Illinois recently issued 185 total adult-use marijuana dispensary licenses to social equity applicants. ”Now, we look forward to getting these businesses up and running, creating jobs in the communities most harmed by the failed drug war, and cementing ownership in Illinois’ cannabis industry as the most diverse in the nation,” said Gov. JB Pritzker.

Now, an ownership group comprised of “wealthy and connected” Chicago entrepreneurs, recently received its first social equity recreational marijuana retail license issued by the state's regulators.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Green Rose Dispensary will open its doors soon in a prominent location in the city’s River North area. The state also issued a permit to a second equity dispensary, Ivy Hall, in the city’s Wicker Park area, but no opening date has been announced, reported MJ Biz Daily.

Green Rose qualified for an equity permit by hiring employees who had minor marijuana-related convictions or live in areas with high rates of cannabis arrests or poverty. Its owners include Thomas Wheeler Jr., a former Chicago police detective and narcotics-unit veteran.

Additionally, the state is offering a total of $8.75 million in forgivable loans to conditionally approved social equity cannabis licensees “in order to provide immediate access to capital” after challenges with a previous loan program.

According to a recent news release from Gov. Pritzker and the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, “pending the completion of a simplified documentation process, forgivable loan amounts between $50,000-$500,000 will be released immediately."

Beginning retail sales on January 1, 2020, Illinois was the first state to authorize licenses. However, lawsuits and other delays prevented retailers in the social equity program from opening immediately, with some having to wait nearly three years to obtain a license to operate.

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Photo By Dylan LaPierre On Unsplash